Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

Spiritual Warfare Pt.2

Aren't you glad He's alive and in us this morning? I had an interesting conversation with a couple of men yesterday. We were talking about the fact that Jesus is alive and how we relate to Him as believers today beyond denominations. They were sitting in a golf cart. One of them was a Nazarene; the other was a Baptist. They were both expecting the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. They both believed in a pre-tribulation rapture; they believed in salvation by grace through faith, and they believed in living holy lives. Isn't it great to see there is a remnant that's expecting His soon coming? We're looking forward to that day, and the ability to continue to walk in and share the expectation that we have. Last week we were celebrating the resurrection, and today we're celebrating the fact that He's still raised. He's still alive, and He's still coming--at any moment. Every day is a celebration for those who are believers. Once a year the religious people celebrate, but we have a daily celebration in that victory that's been won.

We want to talk about the warfare, though, making sure we are ready for that imminent return of the Lord, and talk about how the enemy wants to wrestle away your crown. "Don't let any man take your crown," the Scripture says. We realize it is really not men; it isn't flesh and blood that we war against. It is principalities, powers, and the wickedness that's in the heavenlies. We have been sharing that this superabundance of the spirit of iniquity doth already work. It is already in our midst, the spirit of lawlessness that will usher in the man of sin, the Antichrist. Many are going to be deceived in those last days, so how are we going to protect ourselves? The Scripture says that the mighty have fallen. We have seen it historically and we have seen it in our midst. What are we going to do to protect ourselves? We don't have an unconditional guarantee, but we do know that those who endure to the end shall be saved.

We are talking about endurance: the ability to consistently pursue and delight in the image of Jesus, and to desire to be conformed more and more into that image. We need to ask ourselves this morning, "Am I progressing? Am I pressing on? Is there diligence in my life? Is there fervency in my life? Am I as much in love with my First Love today as I was last week? Last year? Ten years ago? Forty years ago (for some of us)?" In a true love relationship even in the natural, the affections grow greater, not lesser. I think most of us would be able to say, "I love my wife more now than I loved her 30 years ago," unless your wife is 28 or whatever. That's the way our relationship is supposed to be with the Lord. Are you more in love with Him today than you were when you were saved 30 years ago?

I have a greater understanding of my Savior this morning. I have a greater appreciation for Him, having been merciful to me now for 30 some years, and still loving me. I have more of a desire to be like Him than ever in my life. I was excited as a 20-year-old young man who was finally realizing that I could be redeemed and have a place in the family of God. It was so nice to be out from under the power of sin and its dominance in my life. But there was a naivete; there was an excitement, but a naivete in what was to be involved in this journey that we've been in. I never really lost the excitement about the kingdom of God and the privilege of serving in it; but in these last years, I have experienced a maturing and a soberness of the price that was paid. I am realizing what is really involved in honoring God in the greatest way that you could ever honor Him: to finish this race--to make sure that the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things don't come in and choke the Word of God out of our lives; to stand and be constant in our opposition to the principalities and the powers of this world's system. To be a friend of the world is to be at enmity, or at war with, God. The more we walk in the light and the more we walk in the kingdom, the more we understand that we have to separate ourselves from the world.

We have said so many times and defined "the world" so clearly in our midst. Yet, when I say "the world," I think we would all be amazed at what pops into some of our minds. Some of us still think of activities; some of us still think of forms of entertainment (whether it be a movie theater, or going to a professional sporting event). A lot of Christians believe it is a sin to go watch a professional football game, or see a movie somewhere. They mean well. Their consciences are really affected by those things; and for them to go would be sin for them. They really believe that, and they hold to that doctrine. So when I say "world," people who have that kind of thought process think of those kind of things, that visible holiness comes into their minds. Of course, we all know that some dress accordingly--black clothes, long sleeves, buns on their heads, and all of these things. Some of those people are some of the nicest folks you ever ran into. They love God. I don't agree with their application, but they love the Lord. When I say "world," they perceive one thing.

Worldliness, beloved, is an allegiance to Satan's kingdom. That allegiance is seen by the fact that you follow its principles. Worldliness is thinking with the natural mind, not the renewed mind. Worldliness is quick to embrace natural wisdom. If you're worldly, you find yourself drifting away from the supernatural into the natural, or the spiritual into the carnal. As we address this subject of spiritual warfare, we want to ask, "Which path are you on? In which direction are you gravitating at this moment in your life? Are you pressing more into the walk in the Spirit and into the supernatural and the walk of faith; or are you finding yourself comfortable in the natural, the world's system's provisions, how it flows, and its principles?" To be a friend of the world is to be the enemy of God. What seems to be so natural, logical, and sometimes even amoral (that is, there's nothing wrong with it), is resisting the ordinance of God, the authority that He's set forth, and what He has required of us. The fact of the matter is, we don't have the right to draw any conclusions about what we think is right or wrong; it has already been revealed to us.

This morning as we're studying and getting into this particular series, we have to deal with those issues: "What is my mindset? Where is my heart in pursuing the eternal, the supernatural, and the walk in the Spirit? How much have this world's methods and philosophies affected me?" It comes a lot of different ways. It flows into the church. We even find people today that in the guise of unity are compromising doctrine. I was talking to those guys yesterday a little bit. They were talking about that aspect. I shared with them, "Look, you've got to be very aware of one thing. There is a difference between spiritual unity and unification through compromise." Of course, the classic, they brought up the Catholic church. One of the men knew a Catholic who was a believer. I said, "I don't have any problem accepting the fact that there's some guy that attends some cathedral somewhere who is born again." "But," I said, "most likely the guy hasn't found out that he's not a Catholic yet because here's what makes a Catholic...[then I went through a couple of things that are historical principles of the Catholic church]." The Moose Club has a set of guidelines that it takes to be a Moose. Fred and Barney have guidelines for being the Grand Pooh Bahs or whatever they were. The world has its ideologies and philosophy. If you follow those, you are of the world. The kingdom of God has its standards by which all of its citizens live. The war you and I are involved in this morning is the war for those truths that are in your heart.

Let me share this one principle with you. It is the greatest tactic of the enemy. In answering this, you answer whether you will be victorious or defeated in your life. You are going to be addressed by the spirit of Antichrist, by satanic powers, and by the agents of flesh and blood (philosophers, philanthropists, and good old boys). Dear Lord, was there a bunch of them where we were this weekend! I mean, Bubba was out in force. I saw one kid who could have been the poster child for Bubba. He had on a beanie-type hat with a shorter bill. It looked like a beanie; all it needed was a propeller. That bill was turned about thirty degrees to the right, and they were spitting, and making facial expressions--I was just busting up. I was entertained for 30 minutes by this kid. I just watched him. I'd laugh; it was great! Maybe I was looking at my ancestors, I don't know.

What is it that we're dealing with? Here it is in a nutshell. Are you ready? It all hinges on this question: "Has God said?" Has God said? "You won't die. Go ahead; take a little bite of the fruit. You won't die. God won't hold this against you. That's not really what He meant." Men begin to interpret from their own lusts the mandates of God. Can I ask you a question this morning? When your will comes in conflict with the will of God, what's your track record? Who wins? What's your batting average this morning? I want to tell you something, beloved: Hall of Fame statistics are not good enough. You cannot hit .300 in the kingdom and be walking in the Spirit. There must be habitual obedience in our lives; sin must be the exception in our lives, not the rule.

You need to be spiritually minded, which is life and peace. That means, "to have your heart intent" upon the things that are spiritual, that edify God, that are contrary to the world's wisdom. How do you think? How do you approach the decisions in your life? Do our children act like the world's children? Are they just as rebellious? Are they just as fleshed out? Are they just as mealy-mouthed weaklings as most of the world is today, sitting around playing little games? What are you doing to build character in the life of your child? Are the wives just as manipulative as those that are in the world are? Is your home a matriarchal domain because of the abdication of a slothful, weak overseer? For most of our homes, we can say, "No, it's not that way." We say, "Praise God" for that! The world's system is so natural to those who are worldly. It's the way it all operates. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." That is what this is all about.

Every day you will come in conflict with the world's way of doing things. Can I ask you this morning, "How peculiar are you?" You say, "I'm pretty weird." No, we're not talking about weird. We're talking about peculiar. The Scripture says we are a "peculiar people." That means "a people that are set off by boundaries." We are distinguishable from everybody else. They know we don't belong to them. Is it clear where you live? Is it clear among your natural family members? Is it clear among your contemporaries at work? Does everybody in your neighborhood know where you stand, that your kids aren't going to run and do the things that the rest of the community does? "Come out from among them," the apostle said, "be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."

Has God said? Has God said? "Are you sure that's what God said?" When Satan came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, we all know how the story went. Everything Satan did to try to manipulate the Lord Jesus was based upon immediate circumstances. "Surely in these circumstances God will change! It's unique to You. The immediate circumstances require this kind of response. It will be okay to take up Your religion later. It will be okay to reconcile things back with God. After all, aren't You starving? You haven't eaten for forty days!" His response was, "It doesn't make any difference. It is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!" Where we get in trouble is not our doctrine; it is in the application of it to immediate circumstances that are adverse to our comfort zone. Tragically, you'll find out that's why so many parents, usually fathers, want to stand in faith and have great faith for their child: "We're believing God." It is easy to believe God when it's the other person hurting. How strong is your endurance when it's in your body? It's easy to believe God when you are saving ten bucks on somebody else; but how easy is it to put up the ten bucks to relieve your immediate situation? To be spiritually minded is life and peace; to be carnally minded is death.

As we look at our own hearts while in this study, we'll find out whether we're walking in the Spirit or not; and what we can expect the results of this race that we're in to be. Are you prepared? What are you doing to prepare? Those are some of the questions we're going to answer as we go on into the study here over these next sessions.

With that as introduction and a little taste of review, let's turn to Ephesians, chapter six. Did we already turn there? Ephesians, chapter six, verse ten: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." We know that Satan is going about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour, 1 Peter tells us. We have some assurance this morning: "Blessed assurance, Satan is fine. O what a foretaste of judgment divine." It's a sure thing--as sure as God's love, as sure as God's mercy and grace, as sure as the salvation of the redeemed--Satan is going about as a roaring lion seeking to destroy you. Did you awake this morning with that on your mind? How many of you left the house this morning traveling light? You came out kind of cruising. You had your little linen jacket on, little linen britches. "After all, I'm a king and a priest. The priests wore their little linen britches. I'm a priest. I have a relationship with God; I'm a servant of God. The Lord has made promises that though a thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand would fall at my right hand, it wouldn't come nigh me. I have promises!" Yes, and you also have mandates and commandments, and it is to put on the whole armor of God. Did you adorn yourself this morning?

I want you to understand something. When you left your house, drove onto this property, and came into this facility, you came into one of the most dangerous places in this area. You came into one of the most spiritually dangerous places in all of this area, because wars are fought here on this property. There is a battle going on right this moment for your mind. When we contend with principalities, powers, and the wickedness in the heavenlies, Satan isn't just going to run away and not have anything to say about it. When the Word of God is being preached, Satan comes immediately, Jesus said in His parable of the sower, to try to remove that seed from the hearts of those that have been quickened by the truth. Do you understand that you are at war this morning, right now? The conflict, the war for your mind and heart is going on right now. What have we done to prepare ourselves?

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil." The implied truth is if you have no armor, you will not withstand; you don't have a chance. Satan goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Ephesians tells us whom he may devour. Whom is he going to devour? Those that aren't wearing the armor of God. He is looking for people without their armor on. He can whip you without your armor. Your good intentions are no good against the satanic wiles. Your doctrine is no good against satanic wiles. Your past track record, your history, or the fact that you are a third generation, spirit-filled believer isn't sufficient against satanic wiles. Your own personal discipline and resolve: "I'm not a bad guy. I'm pretty disciplined. I've got my act together." You will fall without the armor of God.

Satan goes about seeking whom he may devour. Therefore, put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand against the wiles, the cunning devices of the enemy. He has the same tactics, but of course, they are uniquely applied to each one of us. How many of you have come to understand that the Devil knows what makes you tick? How many of you know that the Devil is even better than your spouse and children at hitting your hot buttons? What have you done to prepare yourself this morning for this battle raging around us? Do you feel safe this morning because you had oil yesterday? Do you feel safe this morning because you've made a resolution and things are going pretty well this season? Do things seem to be doing well on the job and in our relationships?

Verse 12 says, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood." Whether the relationships are positive or negative, man is not the issue. Our war is not against flesh and blood. Flesh and blood are the tools of the enemy. They will either contend with you or they'll flatter you; but if they are of the world, they are out to kill you. Do you remember what we said as we were finishing up on Wednesday's study, about the world and its inhabitants? Matthew, chapter 10 says they respond to us in which way? With perfect hatred. They hate us.

Keep your finger here and go back to Matthew. You didn't answer the question quickly enough. Take a look at Matthew, chapter 10. He sent us into the world to preach the gospel, Matthew, chapter 10 says. He gave us power "against unclean spirits, to cast them out; and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease" (verse 1). Here's the commission that has been given to us as His representatives. He said, "I've empowered you to go and be a citizen of the kingdom, to show My might and My desire to reconcile, heal, and deliver." "[Satan] The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly," the Master said. Here's the kingdom of darkness: "kill, steal, and destroy." Here's the kingdom of light: abundant life. These two are in direct conflict with one another, diametrically opposed in every way. Beloved, this morning grab hold of that. They are diametrically opposed in every way. You cannot mesh these kingdoms!

Are there areas of your life that are intertwined? It's a very interesting aspect that we have to answer, whether or not there is an intertwining. I'm not talking about an interrelating, because we are in the world, but we are not of it. Some people think that the solution is to go to a monastery. No, we don't run away from the world; we contend with it. We don't leave the world; we become the light of it and the salt of the earth. People think that they are going to be strengthened by leaving. You are weakened by leaving; you're strengthened by standing and contending. You resist the Devil, and he flees from you. You put on the armor. You don't run away and hide in the holy sanctum in your linen britches. You put on the armor of God and you go out and contend with principalities and powers. You resist the Devil; he flees from you. "I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you," the Scripture says. But this takes work; this takes preparation. It's not just a promise we can go out with and have it unconditionally fulfilled. It is moment by moment preparing ourselves for this conflict that is at hand.

Jesus says over here that He has given us power. He told us in verse seven to go preach the kingdom of God, and "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give." What will happen when you obey that commandment? What is going to happen when you become a visible representative of the kingdom of light? He goes on in the chapter and says that all men are going to hate you for His name's sake, in verse 22. Listen, I want to give you something: if you are a friend of the world, you are the enemy of God. If the world agrees with you, you're in disagreement with God. If your life is palatable to the world, God will vomit you out because you are lukewarm. We have no place in this world's system. They aren't our friends; they are our enemies who need to be converted. Now, the biblical principle is to love our enemies, and feed our enemies. We don't turn our backs on them and say, "You are an enemy of God. Go to hell!" We preach the gospel. We go out and share the love of Jesus, but we don't trust them. We don't commune with them. Our lives are not intertwined with them, because we've come out from among them and been separate in our philosophy. How can two walk together if they're not agreed? We have different philosophies, different goals, and different gods.

I had a guy scratching his head last night down in Petersburg, Virginia. We left Petersburg around 9:45 last night. The guy next to us was scratching his head. It was the biggest event they'd ever had down there. There were 900 cars. One trailer pulled out. Toward the end of the day, people started leaving. Those that got beat started leaving. To the best of my knowledge, one trailer left the property that had not been beaten; it was just going home. The guy next to us could not believe it. "You're going home, to church? I can understand why other people are leaving: they got beat! You're choosing to go home and you haven't lost?" No, I haven't lost. It's what I've won. It's where the priorities are; it's where the goals are. There is no intertwining. There's no power, nothing holding us there. The goals were accomplished; the Gospel was shared; the scheduling that was intended was kept. We had priorities. It's easy to get sucked in by circumstances.

You ought to be different. In every area, you ought to be different. You can't think the way they think. When you do that, they won't tolerate you. Verse 22 says they will hate you. They won't necessarily say it to your face, although some of them will. They won't necessarily try to destroy you immediately, but they will talk about you behind your back because they are the enemies of God. Every time you do something right, it shows they are wrong and they can't stand it. They want to run on you and gnash you with their teeth. You'd better get that part of it together because if the world has embraced you, God has rejected you.

Back in Ephesians we find this principle this morning: we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies. "High places" just means "the heavenlies." Here we are this morning. Satan is going about seeking whom he may devour. He is playing with your mind right now. What's rattling around in there right now? If you're a Valley Girl, probably nothing. But the rest of us have thoughts, different goals, and ambitions. What's going on right now in your mind? Have you got something that you need to get home and work on? Is something broken? Is your mind off somewhere like that? Are you going to run and play this afternoon somewhere? Is your mind in the office on Monday? What thoughts are coming into your mind that are keeping you from pure worship to God? What was happening during worship time and praise? Was your mind wandering around? Beloved, you need to bring every thought into subjection to the obedience of Christ. If your mind can't be controlled in the environment of worship, beloved, then there is too much of the world in there. It's bouncing all over the place. You need some more discipline. You need to get the helmet of salvation on.

You need to fill your mind with the Word of God so that you can speak the Word, for it is as sharp as a two-edged sword. It contends with all of those thoughts. You begin to tear down every thought and evil imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. How? By speaking, "It is written." "It is written." Satan is going about seeking whom he may devour! Do you want me to tell you whom he can devour? He can devour some people that can't say, "It is written." I've got an answer for you, Devil. "Has God said?" "Yes. I have got an answer for you, Devil. It is written, man shall not live by bread alone. That's what I live by." "It's going to be tough if you do it this way." "God is my source." When God speaks and says to command these stones to be turned into bread, I'll obey. When He drops faith into my heart and He speaks that to me, I'll obey, and those rocks will become edible; but I have bread to eat that you don't know anything about. "It is to do the will of He that sent me," Jesus said.

The world's method is to get as much as you can, to make life as easy as you possibly can, and to fend for yourself. The wisdom of the kingdom is, "I have not come to do my will, but the will of He that sent me." I just want to know what God wants me to do in this circumstance; and I'll do it. It doesn't matter what else happens or what anybody else thinks.

"Spiritual wickedness in high places," is referred to in verse 12. What are those powers? Anything that is trying to keep you from doing the will of God. You need to be aware. You need to listen for it. Sometimes it can be those that are closest to you. Sometimes it can be a spouse that rises up and says, "Why don't you just curse God and die?" It most likely won't be that blatant and that obvious. Associates and contemporaries around you bring counsel, but it's contrary to the Word of God, for they actually become the counselors with the spirit of Absalom. Be aware! Listen! Whenever anything is spoken that's contrary to the Word of God--that Word that we've hidden in our hearts so we won't sin against Him, that Word that's so much a part of your life that you can discern what is being spoken. "I hear what everybody is saying. It sounds logical, but it's not the Word of God. It's foreign to my ears. I can't even necessarily come up with any logical reason to reject it, but this isn't God--because I know God. I know God when He speaks. I know the Word of God." Beloved, that's the armor that we're talking about, that's having the helmet of salvation in place to where everything you hear, everything that anybody is speaking to you, anything that you're observing with your eye gates, whatever the environment is around you that you're sensitive to, it's all coming through the filter of "It is written. It is written. It is written. How does this relate to the Word of God? What eternal consequence is there going to be to this kind of a decision?"

How mature are you? How disciplined are you to think beyond the immediate circumstances, beyond the moment? Do you make your decisions based upon the immediate, or do you understand that you are a representative of an eternal kingdom? Do you understand that things that happen in our life are not happening by chance? "God is ordering the steps of a good man. The decisions that I am making are going to have long-term consequences; so I want to hear from God." I want to make sure that the input that is coming to me is not that which is earthly, sensual, and demonic from the powers in the heavenlies. I want to make sure I'm hearing the Word of God. I've got to adorn myself with the armor.

"Wherefore," he says in verse 13. He started off in verse ten with "Finally," and now he says, "Wherefore." In other words, "therefore," or "the conclusion is," or "since we are at war with spiritual wickedness, and since we're contending with a supernatural force called the wisdom of the world, and since there is a Devil who is seeking to devour you, and since we realize that it's not flesh and blood that we're contending with." Here is the conclusion: "Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." The conclusion is let's put on the whole armor of God.

We have talked about this before. You must put on the whole armor; you can't pick and choose. "I just want to be saved, but I want to be able to live the rest of my life to myself." You can't do it. You can't have on the helmet of salvation and run around naked. You're not going to make it going outside with just your hat on. You've got to put on the whole armor. A lot of Christians pick and choose. They are just salvation preachers, bless God. They'll preach salvation, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the need to be born again; then once you're saved, you're always saved. You can live like the Devil. You can't just put on your hat! There's got to be a breastplate of righteousness: holy living, holy doctrine, and right standing with God. John says in the first epistle that he that doeth righteousness is righteous. If you're not living righteously, you're not righteous. It isn't just a legal imputing to your account. There's an imparting of righteousness, a literal walk of obedience as the consequence of regeneration in our lives.

We have the breastplate of righteousness; our heads have embraced the doctrine and the knowledge of our salvation; our hearts are covered with the presence of God that imparts to us righteousness, newness of life, and a new heart of flesh that the Scripture speaks of. This doctrine of the armor, the knowledge of this whole armor, says that you can "withstand in the evil day." We are living in an evil time, aren't we? What's the "evil day?" We are in evil times, and the evil day--the Bible says, "sufficient to the day is the evil thereof"--the evil day is today. This is the evil day. Yesterday was a righteous day. You say, "I don't know. I didn't do that good yesterday." Are you alive? Are you still a child of God? Are you still pressing toward the kingdom? Then it was a good day, yesterday. Today is the evil day. I lived through yesterday. I am now in the process of surviving today--sufficient to the day is the evil thereof. I wonder what the Devil is going to do today to bring me down. I wonder if he's going to use my husband again like yesterday. I survived it yesterday, but I'm taking him out today. Today! Put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to withstand in the evil day.

We've shared with you before, that word "withstand," an active word, it literally means "to set out against." It's an offensive term, "withstand." This is something that's very important in this teaching we're in. Can I ask you something this morning? In this battle, are you in a defensive mode or an offensive mode? You've heard people say that defense wins games. No, it doesn't. Defense does not win games. You cannot win zero to zero. You have to have some offense. Defense has its place, but offense wins games. You've got to be able to produce something. Are you maintaining, or are you destroying the kingdom of darkness? What are you doing to set captives free? What are you doing to minister the Word of God? What are you doing according to Matthew 10, about going out and healing the sick and casting out Devils; for freely you've received, you ought to freely give? Oh, beloved, that's one of the greatest truths of victorious living. It's not trying to maintain, it's going out and setting out against principalities and powers in the evil day, resisting the Devil and watching him flee from you. There's nothing more rewarding than making a stand for righteousness and seeing Jesus glorified in it. It is fuel to your spirit. It's the bread that the world doesn't know anything about, to do the will of Him that sent you. How are you doing in this evil day? Are you setting out against the enemy, having done all now? Are you standing?

We've talked about this before. It's very important to realize that it's not again just a defensive mode. You aren't just standing there when the Devil is taking runs at you--BOOM! You say, "I think can stand one more." Then the fiery darts are being shot at us and hurled and whatever else, the shield is full of these darts, and we're just about to go down. "I think I can stand one more moment." That is not what this is all about.

We're setting out against. "Having done all," the Scripture says. Let me ask you something: when you resist the Devil, what happens? He flees from you. I've done what I need to do: I've set out against the enemy. I have the mind of Christ, and I'm resisting the enemy. I'm casting out Devils, healing the sick, and sharing the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I'm contending for the faith. I'm living a life of holiness. The world hates me, but I'm taking the land. Just like Joshua, I'm taking the land. I'm moving in and I'm casting out--little by little, not all at once, lest the wild beasts overrun us. We're just taking them out a little bit at a time. I'm gaining some land and some glory. I'm gaining in my own life. The things that used to take me down, the sins that used to be habitual, they are falling by the wayside. There is still sin in my members; I'm still failing. There's this one thing that's just driving me nuts, this sin that just seems to be me! "Dear God, save me from myself!"

Do you know what? I'm making some gains in this thing. There is a fervency and a hatred for it, even more than ever before. Having done all, stand; don't give back what you took. Don't find yourself, beloved, back here where you were six months ago. Having done all, stand. Not praying less, witnessing less, believing God for healing less, or sharing on the job less while thinking that we're winning battles because we're not involved in some immediate gross sin. Put on the armor and set out to be more like Him. Pray, study, witness, lay hands on the sick, and cast out Devils--freely I've received, I will freely give. Yes, God has said!

We begin to realize that all of this warfare is in your mind, and that it's for the philosophy of your life. What is your philosophy? What's your philosophic position, your mindset? Here's what it has to be, "If God said it, I'm going to do it--period." "Yeah, but what about...." I don't care. When I say, "I don't care,"--we've talked about that before--I'm not saying that I won't have an emotional response to it. When I say, "I don't care," I don't mean that forsaking mothers and fathers won't hurt.

I called my mother last night. I rolled in about 12:45, and called her up. It was her birthday. She was delighted, as she had received some of the things that we had sent (pictures of the grandchildren had arrived, and a picture that Janet and I had just taken). She was excited about that. We sent her some flowers and a little teddy bear. We have a very young family--we all started out as children. Some of them had children when they were children, like grandma had her first one I think at fifteen and a half. That's what I mean when I say we're a young family. She's only 92, and Mom is 76. So I call her on her birthday and talked to her a little bit last night when I got in. We have no communion or fellowship. There is the natural response. Sadly, sometimes we have just responsibility to parents but no communion, nothing in common. Most of the time the response is obligatory because I really don't like this person that much. It's not someone I'd choose to be around. There is irony in the fact that here's a person you really don't care for that much, you don't like very much about them, and you wouldn't choose to be around them. Yet there is a natural bond there just because of blood. So when those people choose to reject you over your acceptance of Jesus, that has an effect on you. When your siblings are in conflict with you over these issues of life, that has an effect on you. When I say, "you don't care," I don't mean that you won't have emotional feelings to contend with. What I'm saying is that I've already made my decision: "It is written. I'm going to do it. It may hurt my feelings and everybody's feelings around me, but it doesn't make any difference." Have you made that decision in your life, or do you still have to decide what you're going to do with every incident? "Let me think about this one. Whew, if I do that, then my boss is going to think this; parents are going to think this; my spouse is going to think this; my children are going to react this way; the mailman is going to be upset." What has that got to do with anything? What has any of that got to do with obedience to the Word of God? Are you standing? That's all I'm telling you. If you've come to that place in your life, made that decision, resisted the enemy, and you've occupied that land, are you now back here trying to say, "I wonder what.... If I do that, this will happen."? You're in trouble! You're in jeopardy! Put on the whole armor of God that you might stand.

As we pick this up this evening, I want to emphasize again not only the mandate to stand, but also what enables us. What is it that you and I can do to prepare ourselves to become more diligent in this? Remember, we asked the question Wednesday night concerning our natural response to what other people think. One of the biggest problems that all of us face is whether we're going to be men pleasers or not. Did you know that was Adam's sin and not Eve's? Eve's original sin was to be a self pleaser, and Adam's original sin was to be a man pleaser. We all care what people think, every one of us. I have a very strong desire in me to have people think that I'm doing something that's right, that I'm doing well, that I've succeeded, that I'm a person that's a nice guy that they can have fellowship with. Those are all things that mean a lot to me. It is strong in who I am, and it's strong in every one of you. Yet I've had to make one or two decisions in my life that I knew weren't going to make people happy. Can you make those without the armor on? You can't. It's the evil day. What are you doing with this decision that you have to make right now? How are you contending with the wisdom of the world, the wiles of the Devil that are trying to make you believe that this situation is a little different than the last hundred? "This one is a little different, so you'd better consider this one. This one has a little twist to it, so maybe you can do this. I know the Word says this, but surely, in this situation we don't have to do the Word entirely! I'm not saying don't do the Word. Don't get me wrong here. I'm not saying let's not do the Word. I'm just saying, do we have to do all of it? All of the Word seems to be a little harsh at this moment. The consequences seem to be a little more costly than I'm willing to pay at this moment, so surely we can apply this wisdom." To be carnally minded is...say is with me: death. To be spiritually minded is life.

Father, help us to be spiritually minded this morning, to set our intentions upon the Word of God, and to be jealous for it. There is no armor without the Word. Father, we understand that the armor does not come by intentions, or by personal discipline. The armor is the Word of God. The only armor we have is in these words, "It is written." Without that, we're not safe. Without the knowledge of Your will and the application of it, we cannot stand in this evil day. The enemy, Father, is seeking whom he may devour. How vulnerable am I this morning? In my decision making, what's the percentage of choosing the Word versus choosing the world's wisdom, the flesh's desires? All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. How much of what I do is governed by that force, and how much is governed by the simple, pure, and absolute application of the Word of God? Help us, Father, to stand in Jesus' name. Amen.

Let's stand before the Lord this morning. As Gary plays for us, and again God's Spirit deals with the issues in your life that you're contending with this morning, the battle is for your mind. The spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies rages. "Has God said? Surely you won't die! Surely you won't die by adding a little bit to the Word of God, or taking away from the Word of God." You will most surely die, because the commandment is just that. As we go on in the study, we're going to see some of the practical aspects: believing God in the area of our relationships, the provision of God in our lives for our necessities, the preserving of our bodies. Don't give back the ground that you've taken; because the Bible says "he that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin." There is a way that seems right in men's eyes, but it ends in destruction. Oh, let's be jealous for the land that the blood of Jesus has purchased for us. Let's be jealous for the land that the Spirit working within us has gained. As the world and all of its darkness has been driven back, we've become light and salt, a people that do things differently. Help us, Father, to realize the call on our lives, and the obligation we have of representing You. We are in the world, but not of it. We do the same things the world does--we get up, go to work, go about our activities, play golf, go to the mall--but we're not of it. We understand the eternal values. Lives are at stake. The kingdom must be represented. We have bread to eat of that others don't know about. Make it real to us, Father, in Jesus' name.

Let's sing this together this morning and worship Him. Oh, that we would be that sacrifice, holy to God. "Let me be a sacrifice/Holy and acceptable...." Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Lord, that our lives would be offered up to You, that we would surely be that sacrifice. Lord, that we would be able in all of our ways to honor You. Lord, that there would be a satisfying only by Your presence, that You would be our delight, the source of our strength and our refreshing. Hallelujah!

The event we were at in Richmond was our first ever national event. You have to earn your way to Sunday. There's a lot of hoopla--the National Anthem is sung, and all of the different things that go on during the Sunday morning portion of the finals. We were going to be the first cars on the track this morning, following all of the celebrity introductions, and all of the different things. It was just by chance that it was going to happen. That never happens with the class that we run in. There will probably never be another opportunity for that to happen with the class that we run: to be "it" on Sunday morning. That's how it was going to be scheduled due to different conflicts. I so much more wanted to be here. Aren't you thankful for His presence, for what He does in our lives, and the opportunity to keep that ground that He's given you? You have to know what you're contending with and for, and make your decisions based on those areas. We all have our own decisions, every one of us. That's just some little thing that we had to deal with in our evil day; and His grace is always there. We looked for Him to be honored in every way. Before you go, turn to somebody, and say, "Having done all, stand." Go in peace; God's love go with you.

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